1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sand blasting cleaning devices, and more particularly to a portable, self-contained sand blasting cabinet with accessory end caps providing a wide range of cleaning operations, both inside the cabinet, inside an extended cabinet, and inside extensible shields which may be closed about a work area.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a need in the art for a portable, self-contained sand blaster with an interchangeable end wall structure to accommodate an extended box to effectively lengthen the sand blaster cabinet, or a flexible, soft boot end cap with a drawstring end, or a magnetic end, to seal about a work object, all as provided by the instant invention but not taught or seen in the related art.
An anecdotal summary follows, indicating just one area where the instant invention solves an as yet unsolved major problem.
Vehicle repair in northern climates (upstate New York, for example) often involves dealing with rust and corrosion, caused by constant exposure to snow, salt and ice from fall to spring. In just dealing with brake systems alone, often rust and/or corrosion will impact the fit of a disc brake rotor to its hub, the fit of brake pads in their mounting brackets, and caliper movement on its mounts. The present art methodology in dealing with the problem is to grind off the rust by a labor intensive operation, usually involving an angle grinder and a wide variety of abrasive discs for each job. Not only is the process unduly long and tiresome, often hard-to-reach areas are missed and 10 to 20 discs may be used (these cost 60 to 80 cents each). Obviously, the process is costly. It is also environmentally unfriendly, as the discs create an airborne cloud of rust dust in the shop. The process can be dangerous to technicians"" eyes as well as lungs.
Now, some establishments simply absorb the extra cost, while other pass it on to their customers. Because of the costs involved, some simply do little or no cleaning of the parts, often resulting in an unsatisfactory brake job.
One answer is, of course, the use of a conventional, hand-held siphon feed sand blaster. Sandblasters do a fine and complete job of cleaning, even in hard to reach areas, and do not damage the underlying structure. This works just fine on any removable part, but is excessively messy and must be done outdoors, and presents obvious safety and environmental risks. Another answer is the use of a conventional sandblasting cabinet, again for the removable parts. However, these solutions do nothing for the parts that cannot be readily removed from the vehicle, namely (for example) the brake hub, calipers, and in some instances, the knuckle. Additionally, vehicle bodies are subjected to rust and corrosion. In the body shop environment, sandblasting would be a solution, but the job is messy and difficult to do on parts not readily removable from the vehicle.
The flexibility provided by the present invention, which allows sandblasting within a cabinet or on vehicle parts on the vehicle, by use of a novel, flexible boot attached to the sandblasting cabinet and sealable about the part to be treated, solves the problems set forth above. Additionally, the present invention provides an extension to the cabinet for handling and cleaning removable, extended length parts.
The related art discussed below fairly reflects the present state of the art.
A portable sandblasting device including a wheeled cabinet, a sandblasting gun and a vacuum to remove airborne dust particles from the operation is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,375 issued Aug. 17, 1971, to Frank D. Nunemaker. A sandblasting cabinet with a pair of glove ports is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 323,661 issued Feb. 4, 1992, to Fred Zwicker.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,773,374 issued Aug. 19, 1930, to Richard Ruemelin shows a sandblasting hood movable up to the face of a stationary graveyard monument and generally sealed about the area to be sandblasted. A sand collection pail catches spent sand at a bottom of the hood.
A portable booth with glove ports and an internal system to prevent escape of cleaning fluids is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,199 issued Feb. 19, 1991, to Joel J. Hughes.
The remaining five patent documents to be discussed generally disclose abrasive blasting devices for large buildings or ships, and including a hood or shroud sealed up against a portion of the work surface to limit the escape of blast particles and collect the spent particles. These teachings include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,979 issued Jul. 7, 1998, to Dan A. Coke et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,527 issued Aug. 13, 1991, to Helmut Fasje; Japan Patent Document No. 52034496 published Mar. 16, 1977; Japan Patent Document No. 58077452 published May 10, 1983; and Japan Patent Document No. 63196379 published Aug. 15, 1988.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a portable sand blasting cabinet and accessory end caps solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The invention is a portable, self-contained sand blaster including a cabinet and accessory end caps. Parts to be treated by a sandblasting operation may be cleaned inside the cabinet, or inside extensions provided by the accessory end caps. The caps include a solid end wall, an extension box for treating larger parts in the cabinet, a softboot with drawstring closure affixed about parts to be treated and which cannot be conveniently removed and placed entirely within the cabinet, and a softboot with a magnetic opening for attachment to rather large, rusted or corroded (e.g., vehicle door panels), relatively flat surfaces.
The base is wheeled and has controls, a vacuum for safe evacuation of airborne dust particles, a bin or angled tube for the sand supply, and a blast cabinet on top. Conveniently, the base has a retractable electric cord with a male plug for hookup to a source of electricity. A source of compressed air is connected via a suitable connector to an air dryer and a compressed air line which leads to the sandblasting gun.
A media filter is located in a pullout tray at the base of the sandblasting cabinet. The filter has a mesh size sufficient to entrap large rust particles or parts that otherwise would reenter the sand stream and likely block the sandblasting gun during its use. If desired, a blow gun can be provided for cleaning dust off treated parts.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a portable, self-contained sand blasting cabinet with accessory end caps, so that portable and fixed workpieces may be sandblasted within the cabinet or an end cap.
It is another object of the invention to provide a kit of end caps for a sandblasting cabinet, including a fixed wall, an extended length box for long workpieces, and a softboot end cap with a drawstring closure or magnets, for sealing an open end of the cap about a stationary work surface.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a portable sandblasting cabinet with an interior media filter above the sand supply which has a mesh size sufficient to block and entrap large particles from the sand supply, and thus prevent the sandblasting gun from becoming clogged by such debris and thus inoperable.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a portable sandblasting cabinet with a shop vacuum for dust, and operated by a knee-operable switch so that the sandblaster may be turned on and off by an operator without having to remove the hands from the gloves ports of the device.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.